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Weekly sports roundup, October 3-9: From money minting MS Dhoni biopic to India's shock defeat to South Korea

Highlights of the week were India reclaiming number one spot in ICC Test ranking and India suffering a rare defeat in kadaddi.

The first week of October was dominated by off the field matters involving the protracted BCCI-Lodha Committed tussle, with the Supreme Court sending out a slew of directives to the Indian cricket board. But there's no dearth of sporting actions.

Here are our sports roundup for the week October 3-9.


MS Dhoni biopic continues to rake in moolah

Amid reports which claimed that Mahendra Singh Dhoni took close to IND 60 crore from the makers of 'MS Dhoni: The Untold Story', the biopic itself crossed the Rs 100 crore-mark at the box office.


Virat Kohli continues to rock

Virat Kohli ended his barren run with the bat in the ongoing Test series against New Zealand with a classy hundred on the first day of third match at Indore on Saturday (October 8). The very next day, he became the first Indian player to score two double centuries as a captain.


India crowned new Test number one

India beat New Zealand by 178 runs in the second Test at Eden Gardens to reclaim number one spot in ICC Test Rankings. In the middle of a 12-match unbeaten streak at home, there are still 11 Test matches to go in the long home-season for the hosts.


David Miller storm hit Australia as South Africa produce yet another epic chase

David Miller hit a sensational century as South Africa pulled off the second highest ODI run-chase of all time on Wednesday (October 5) in a four-wicket triumph over Australia at Kingsmead. Miller remained unbeaten on 118 off 79 balls as South Africa chased down what had been a ground record 371 for six by Australia with four balls to spare.

And strangely, Australia have lost eight of the top-10 run chases. New Zealand and England are the other teams. Of these ten, top four are against the Aussies. The Kiwis have failed to defend 350-run target against England in 2015, and England lost to Australia despite scoring 333 runs.


BCCI vs Lodha Committee

The Supreme Court on Friday (October 7) dealt a decisive blow to the BCCI by ordering the defiant board not to release funds to state associations till such bodies file affidavit that they will abide by the Justice RM Lodha Committee recommendations.

Besides the interim order, the apex court also asked BCCI boss Anurag Thakur to file a personal affidavit on details of his conversation with the International Cricket Council (ICC) chief regarding the Lodha recommendations. The hearing will continue on October 17, after the Dussehra holidays.


Kabaddi World Cup: Wake up call for India

In other sports, holders India were shocked by South Korea in the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup opener. Having won each of the seven previous editions, the Indian team were beaten 31-34 by the outsiders on Friday (October 8).

The Ahmedabad tournament has 12 nations competing, but Pakistan – one of the powerhouses – are not taking part thanks to escalating Indo-Pak tension after the Uri attack, and the subsequent surgical strike from India.


Four-star Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar on national duties

In football, Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in the opening four minutes on the way to a four-goal haul as European champions Portugal smashed Andorra 6-0 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying on Friday (October 7). In South America, Neymar helped Brazil to an easy 5-0 win over Bolivia in their qualifiers. In other results, defensive Italy held rampant Spain to 1-1 draw.

ISL-3 started with NorthEast on song

The third season of burgeoning Indian Super League (ISL) kick started as the 'passionate giants' continue their soul searching in football. Uruguayan striker Emiliano Alfaro struck twice, including one via a horrendous error by rival goalkeeper, as NorthEast United FC beat FC Goa 2-0 to register their second consecutive win in Guwahati on Tuesday (October 4).


Maria Sharapova reprieve and Rafael Nadal struggle

Maria Sharapova had her two-year tennis ban for doping reduced to 15 months by the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Tuesday. Meaning the Russian is free to resume competition at the end of April 2017.

And soon, French Open organisers hinted at giving the former world number one a wild card for the 2017 edition at Roland Garros.

But, Rafael Nadal found himself fighting against time to resurrect his game again. The Spanaird crashed out of China Open, losing to Grigor Dimitrov in the quarters on Friday. Now, the 30-year-old's chances of featuring in the 11th consecutive ATP Finals is in doubt.


Tiger Woods to make a comeback; USA stop Europe's Ryder Cup streak

14-times major champion Tiger Woods announced on Friday that he will make long-awaited return to competitive golf at next week`s Safeway Open in Napa, California. The 40-year-old has not played competitive golf since the Wyndham Championship in August, 2015 and his ranking has plummeted to 767th after his spell on the sidelines.

But he was involved in United States' Ryder Cup winning campaign against Europe as a member of "Ryder Cup Task Force". And US shook off three consecutive defeats, ripping Europe 17-11 for their most decisive triumph since 1981 in the biennial team golf showdown.


Mary Kom's not-so-comfortable yet candid revelation

Boxing icon revealed a shocking incident where she was molested as a teenager. As a part of social campaign called #LetsTalkAboutRape, the five-time world champion wrote a letter to her sons about the horrid experience.


Tweet of the week


Photo of the week


 

Match of the week

India vs South Korea, 2016 Kabaddi World Cup Pool A at Ahmedabad on October 7, 2016
South Africa vs Australia, 2nd ODI at Johannesburg on October 2, 2016